Japan court finalises Japan cult guru death penalty

TOKYO, Sep 15 (Reuters) Japan's Supreme Court rejected an appeal against the death sentence for the former leader of a doomsday cult today, clearing the way for him to be hanged for masterminding a 1995 subway gas attack, Japanese media said.

Lawyers for Shoko Asahara, 51, had argued that the former leader of Aum Shinri Kyo was mentally incompetent.

Asahara, whose real name is Chizuo Matsumoto, was found guilty in the gassing on Tokyo rush-hour trains that killed 12 and sickened thousands, and was sentenced to death by a Tokyo court in February 2004.

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